saint

A saint is a person who is believed to be especially close to God. Some saints are prophets, or messengers of God. Others are healers, doers of good deeds, or martyrs. A martyr is someone who is killed for belonging to a religion. Sainthood is an official status in some religions. In other religions people become saints simply because many people honor them.

Saints are venerated—honored with special acts of devotion—in two of the three branches of Christianity. In Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy a person can be declared a saint after their death. Roman Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Christians believe that saints have special powers to help people. They venerate the remains of the saints and certain objects associated with the saints. They also honor each saint with a special feast day. Most Protestants do not venerate saints.

Muhammad, the great prophet of Islam, said that there are no saints. But Muslims do honor certain holy people who they believe are especially close to God. These holy people are thought to have special powers to bless people and to perform miracles. Such a person is known as wali, meaning “friend of God.” Muslims also honor martyrs.

All Buddhists honor saints, which include the Buddha himself. Buddhists believe in a cycle of birth, death, and rebirth; after death, one’s soul is reborn in another being. In general, Buddhists honor as saints people who have freed themselves from this cycle of rebirth and those who have helped others free themselves from the cycle.

Hinduism recognizes a great variety of saints, including sadhus and avatars. Sadhus are holy people who go without nearly everything except what they need to survive, such as a little food and a few simple belongings. An avatar is believed to be a god reborn into human or animal form.

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